Quick Date Night Recipe- Porchetta

So today I am going to share a recipe that is close to my heart: porchetta. Porchetta reminds me a lot of childhood meals, as it was something my Chinese mother picked up from a certain Italian mother-in-law in a past life. Traditionally, porchetta is made with the tenderloin. There is hardly any fat, which means the trick to a proper porchetta is keeping the meat nice and juicy. Luckily, pork tenderloins don't require too much cooking time, and the chances of forgetting this delicious roast while it's baking off in the oven are slim to zero. The aromas of garlic and fennel seed will fill your apartment or house with some savory flavors of Italy. When this roast is thinly sliced, it also makes one hell of a great sandwich.

So why porchetta as a date night dinner? Yeah I know there's an emphasis on garlic here, but I don't trust a person who doesn't appreciate garlic. Might as well nip that potential failed relationship in the bud, right? Above-all, it's basically an idiot-proof recipe. There are no elaborate cooking times, you don't need a lot of specialty ingredients, you can cook it on the grill or in an oven, and it can go with whatever sides you fancy. When the roast comes out, it is also pretty visually appealing. I am also very attracted to people who are capable of putting out a comfort dish like this- one that would even make your mother proud of your dating judgment.

-Porchetta Roast
1 pork tenderloin
Whole fennel seeds
Fresh ground black pepper
Garlic Powder
Kosher Salt
Olive oil (regular, not XV)

Kitchen twine

The first decision is, to marinate or not to marinate? I'll give you a few options. First, I'd give the green light for a little bath in a salt-pepper-garlic-brown sugar brine for a few hours if you have some basic brining skills. If that's above your skill level, then I'll give you a secret of mine: bottled Italian dressing. It's really my go-to marinade for white meats. Just put the pork in a big freezer bag or a dish, coat it with the dressing, and let it hang out in the fridge for anywhere between 30mins to just a few hours. When you're ready to cook, then just rinse the dressing off under the faucet and you're ready to go. Another direction you can go is buying one of those marinated pork tenderloins. I would stick to something along the lines of "garlic and herb" or "rosemary and garlic." Lastly, you could forgo a marinade completely. If you chose the "naked" route, I would just make sure that you really form a good seasoning crust on the outside of the pork. My mother usually makes it without a marinade and it turns out fine, especially if you let it cook in its own juices when it is wrapped in foil on the grill or in the oven.



The next step is tying the roast. I feel this is an important step because tenderloins lack that bone-in support and are so tender that they lose their shape without a little support. I have some kitchen twine on hand that I use specifically for these type of recipes. Basically, you just make a loop around one end, make a knot and then make some more loops all the way down the roast. I do some criss-crossing, but nothing really technical. My kitchen isn't the Cordon Bleu, okay? Your roast will still look great and your date will only really care about the final product (AFTER the strings have been cut and removed).

Lastly, it's time for the rub. Yeah I know a little rubbing usually comes before anyone gets tied up on a first date, but rules are meant to be broken- right? Anyways, coat your roast with a thin layer of regular olive oil so that your spices stick. I crank out a good layer of black pepper, kosher salt, garlic powder, and whole fennel seeds on my cutting board and then simply roll the meat on top of the seasoned board. If you marinated the meat, make sure you don't go super crazy on the salt. If it's one of those prepackaged marinated pork loins then I wouldn't add any salt to begin with. Remember to use good judgment when it comes to the salt balance, or to err on the side of a little less salt if you are unsure. If you did nothing to your roast, then you will need approximately soft-pretzel levels of salt to really penetrate all through the thick layer of pork. Also, if you purchased a garlic and herb-flavored loin, then I would skip the garlic powder AND the salt. Just roll it in fennel seeds and pepper.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees or get your grill up to medium-high. If baking the porchetta, I use a glass or metal baking dish with a little bit of water added so that all the juices get trapped and help to keep the pork moist. You typically don't need to cover it during the baking process. If you are grilling the porchetta, then wrap the meat in a few layers of foil and then place it right on the rack. Keep the lid on the grill.

Within 20-30 minutes your roast should be done. The meat should feel fairly firm. When you think it's done, take it out of the heat and let it rest for about 5 minutes, then poke it with a meat thermometer. It should have an internal temperature of 160 degrees. I don't check the temperature too quickly for two reasons 1) carry-over cooking time means the meat will still slightly rise in temperature even after you pull the roast off the heat and 2) a Pompeii of pork juices will erupt if the meat is still too hot and your contribute to drying your roast.



When the roast is properly cooked and then rested for about 10 minutes, you can cut the strings off and slice the pork. Make sure to spoon some of the delicious pan juice on the meat before serving. All of that fennel, anise essence is concentrated in there. The meat should be super tender, and the coarse ground black pepper should put a nice little heat in your mouth.



This is also the time to cast the supporting actors: roast potatoes, fresh vegetables, and/or a salad are safe bets. Uncork that bottle of white wine you have chilling in the fridge. What's that? You two are already on your second glass? Good job. You're learning quickly. Enjoy your company, pay attention, and be modest when your date complements your cooking chops. As for what to do after dinner ends- that's for another blog post...

Roasted Pork Loin w/ Sweet Potatoes and Drunken Figs

First off- I apologize for the picture quality. I am in the middle of moving and I seem to have misplaced my camera. These pictures were taken with my laptop's webcam. The pictures came out alright, but I can assure you the food turned out to be excellent.

Roasted Veg

-1 big vidalia onion, cut in half and then into half moon-shaped dices

-6 or so cloves of garlic, still in their natural wrapping

-2 medium sweet potatoes, diced into rounds

-Quite a few glugs of extra virgin olive oil

-Kosher salt, black pepper

Toss all the ingredients in a bowl until all of the vegetables are coated in oil and seasoning. Add them to the roasting pan with the pork loin after the meat broils. It's that simple.

Drunken Figs

-12 or so dried black mission figs, diced in half

-1/2-3/4 cup of good cognac or port (I used the rest of the Remy Martin left over from my Pork au Poivre)

-Good balsamic vinegar.

In a small saucepan, heat the cognac and figs on a stove to about medium heat. Let the figs simmer until the alcohol vapors are gone. Cover the saucepan, and let the figs steep for a while in the cognac until the pork is done. When you are ready to serve the pork, add the figs and the reduced cognac/vinegar mixtures straight in to the veg. It's that simple.

Roasted Pork Loin 

-1 bone-in pork loin, look for one with an ample layer of fat on the top and the rack of ribs underneath. Pick one that looks like it could feed your party

-Kosher salt, black pepper

-Garlic powder

-3 bay leaves (optional)

-Extra virgin olive oil

Lightly coat the bottom of a roasting pan with the olive oil, to make sure the meat doesn't stick to the pan. Salt the pork ALL over. I'm not kidding- this thing should be seasoned more than a pretzel when you're done. Crack some pepper and sprinkle garlic powder all around afterward. Make sure the fat side is UP. Tuck the bay leaves under the roast (they will flavor the drippings and provide a little aromatic to the meat). Set your oven to broil. Cook the meat by itself for about 5-6 minutes or until the entire roast appears white and opaque on the outside, and golden crispy on the top. 

This is what the meat looks like post-broil

Add the veg to the roasting pan and reduce the heat to about 400 degrees for another 3-4 minutes. You want to look for the fatty side to be a little bit brown and the veg to get just a little bit of caramelization. At this point, turn the oven down low- to about 285 degrees. Park the roast in there for about an hour.

After the first hour, pull the pan out, use a turkey baster or a big spoon to pour any oil and drippings over the meat. Once the first basting session is done- cover the pan with foil and put it back in the oven at that low temperature. Continue this every hour or so until you're ready to serve. My roast spent about 4 1/2 hours in the oven-total, and it probably weighed a little over 5lbs. When you are ready to serve the meat, add the figs and fig liquid into the vegetables and let the whole things rest for about 20-30mins in the oven with no heat on. Pour the wine, heat your plates briefly in the microwave, and set the table in the meantime. See below on how to cut the meat.

The Tasting:

The roast turned out pretty well. After letting the meat rest for 30mins in the oven with no heat on, I cut the meat off of the rack of bones. What I was left with were some individual chops with a little bit of that caramelized skin all around the top and then a fatty nub of meat at the end that was just delicious. I spooned the drippings all over the cut meat. The golden hues of the olive oil and rendered pork fat created a "broken" au jus against the dark drops of reduced cognac and balsamic vinegar. The pork was tender, but still held its shape- not like the fall off the bone baby food baby food style pork that you might get from a crock pot or from boiled carnitas (which are good at certain times). The only thing I would have changed would have been to salt it even more in the beginning- OR salt the pork roast the night before and let it sit in the fridge. That's the price I pay for being creative on a whim. 

The sweet potatoes were very soft and were complimented by the onions, which had lost most of their mass and gotten much sweeter. The figs were a little burst of sweetness, distinct (but not overwhelming) flavor from the cognac, and crunch from their seeds. 

The wine changed the way the flavors interacted in my mouth. The alcohol and tannins in the wine easily cleaned the fat and salt from the pork, while leaving a mild cherry flavor in my mouth. If I took a bit of the sweet potato or the figs, the wine would balance out the sugars. After I was done eating, a swallow of the wine would give an earthier flavor and a nice finish. 

The moral of this cooking story is simple: balance. I have never cooked this dish before, but I am familiar with the flavors. Part of this comes out of experience. I know what onions and garlic taste like after roasting in the oven for several hours. I know the texture and the residual sugar that will be left in a sweet potato after its been baked at a low temperature. I know that a pork loin with a nice blanket of fat on top will stay much more juicy in the oven than, for example, a pork tenderloin. Cooking is quite the nurturing activity- you want to make sure that the pork gets broiled enough in the oven so that the fat gets a little crispy- but not burnt. The saltiness of the pork must be balanced by the sweetness of the figs and vegetables. The little amount of vinegar in the drippings plus the alcohol in the wine cuts through the fat in the pork. If you can hone these intuitions and skills then you don't need cooking books and shows. Good ingredients and a little imagination become your inspiration.

What I'm drinking- Portada Tinto (2006)

Yesterday was a tasting day at my local wine proprietorship. I did what I usually do during a wine store tasting- sip on my glass while I walk around the shop looking for new wines to try out. I knew I was cooking pork, so I wanted a good dry red wine that wouldn't break the bank. I walked by the cases of Bleasdale that was featured in my last post, and was tempted to pick up another bottle of that very drinkable wine. However- I came across a case of this wine, and its interesting description scribbled on the cardboard box. I asked Bruce, the owner of the store, for his opinion and his review reaffirmed my interest. Tannins, big flavor, and made from the same groups as used in port, the fortified after-dinner wine for which PORT-ugal is so famous for. 

So I picked up a bottle for $8.99. Opened it up, poured the first glass, and let the open bottle and the poured glass breathe for about an hour. I was really impressed. A little bit of cherry and currant up front, with a lasting smooth finish. The tannins are certainly present, but they are mild enough so that you don't have to gulp some water after each sip of wine. 

Portuguese wines are unique in their own respects. They usually come dry, but not bone-dry like french wines. They usually have a little bit of fruit up front to help give the wine a little more complexity. If you dig Spanish wines, like rioja or grenache, do yourself a favor and head the the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula for something a little different. Ask for a good recommendation if you can, as I have had a couple, cheaper Portuguese wines that were dry in all the wrong ways. I would certainly try this wine again.

pork au poivre

Today, I am making a pork spin-off of a traditional French dish: steak au poivre (pepper steak). True steak au poivre is a staple of French bistros, and involves a thick-cut NY strip steak or a filet mignon heavily seasoned in coarse ground pepper with a creamy cognac sauce. I was watching Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" feature his restaurants, the Les Halles bistro in NYC. My version uses a bone-in pork chop because they are cheap and are basically a culinary blank palette- you can do almost anything with it. The result is a blend of flavors: the saltiness and black-pepper heat from the pork chops balance the fruity and slightly sweet cream sauce. 

Like a t-bone, this cut of pork chop offers a great blend of really tender and really tasty parts of the pig. Notice a good amount of fat along the side- this adds flavor and keeps the pork moist

In all honesty, I bought my chops as part of a sale-priced value pack so they aren't cut super thick like the type of meat usually used for steak au poivre. That's ok for me because you have to cook pork all the way through, unlike steak. You can use thick cut pork chops, but just make sure its cooked completely. Anywho- on to the recipe!

Pork au poivre with roasted garlic potatoes

Ingredients:

For the potatoes:

• 2 medium Potatoes, your favorite variety, cubed (rinsed and/or scrubbed, skins on)
• 4 garlic cloves (papery wrapper still on, trust me)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Coarse sea salt or kosher salt
• Coarse ground black pepper
• Fresh thyme, rosemary (optional)

For the pork and pan sauce:

• Pork chops, one per person
• Olive oil
• Coarse ground black pepper
• Kosher salt
• Shallots or onions, diced (I used red onions, but you can use yellow or white but probably not Vidalia)
• Heavy cream
• Cognac (if you aren't a frequent sipper of the "yac" then you can get a few of those mini-bottles from the liquor store)

I used a bottle of Remy Martin VSOP that we had around the house

Directions

• Prepare the potatoes in advance by tossing the garlic cloves and cubed potatoes in olive oil in a large piece of aluminum foil (If the potatoes aren't coated, they will stick to the foil). Leaving the garlic in the paper helps them to roast and develop a really nice sweetness (and you can easily peel the paper off when its cooked). 

The pouch- before cooking

• Season the garlic and potatoes with salt and pepper.
• Toss in your favorite fresh herb if you want. This part is just another slight flavor enhancer. The real star of this dish is the pork.
• Fold the foil to make a pouch for the potatoes to steam in and bake the pouch around 400 degrees until the potatoes have softened all the way through. If you want, you can just roast them on the foil, not in a pouch, at a lower temperature. This will give you a drier, crispier potato with more caramelization. It's your choice.

The pouch after cooking

Roasted garlic - that dark brown color is what you should be shooting for

• Sauté the onions or shallots in a pan with olive oil and a little salt n pepa on medium heat until they get soft and semi-translucent.
• Season the pork chops with salt and lots of pepper (see the picture).
• Cook the pork chops on another pan on medium high for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown. If you chose the thick cut pork chops, I would leave them on the counter for 20mins to warm up to room temp a little before cooking them and/or finish the seared chops in a warm oven for a few minutes to make sure they are done.
• Turn the heat off the chops when they are done, leave them in the pan.
• Pour a healthy double shot of cognac into the pan with the onions and stir. Let the alcohol cook off for a few seconds.
• Add a little pour of heavy cream into the cognac and onions. The color you are looking for is a light brown (see the picture). 
• Stir and adjust any seasoning (salt and/or pepper). 

At this point you can either toss the pork chops into the pan with the sauce or you can pour the sauce directly on the chops. Garnish your prized pork with some of those roasted garlic-fragrant potatoes. 

A note on drinks - Rosé:

My drinking preferences change with the seasons. In the summer, I enjoy a little dry, chilled rosé. Yeah it's pink, so what? Europeans drink rosé throughout the summer. This stuff isn't sweet like Franzia or André blush. It has subtle flavors that range from cherry and strawberry to pomegranate. It's crisp, clean, and got a little more body than a sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio and can hold up to meatier dishes.

Sol Angélys - Tavel, France

To pare with my French-inspired pork au poivre, I am drinking a rosé from Tavel, France- one of the most famous cities for making rosé. I snagged this bottle after a recommendation from my local wine store proprietor for $12. Any guys who feel emasculated by drinking a pink wine can do a few pushups after dinner while watching the Spike channel.